"Yes, it's an eclectic art by nature. There are some (like Daniel on this website) who mourn the way Hapkido has lost its character by becoming diluted with other arts. But from the very beginning Hapkido was a mashup of Japanese Jujitsu and…"

"I will do that....with bad knees from my kick boxing days my high kick days are over,,,,,so I have to adapt ...hapkido reminds me a lot like kung fu in tat it is tauight so many different ways. Wewill see how it goes. "

"Hello , My name is Deke rivers ...just getting back into martial arts afetr 15yr off but I studdied for 15 yrs before layoff. Trained in a korean blend then swithced to shaolin king fiu under the famed TSAI family system... then…"

Hapkido is intelligent, scientific, and comprehensive. It can be soft and flowing, allowing you to control someone without injuring him, or it can be brutal, totally devastating the enemy. It covers every fighting range: kicking range, close range, ground fighting. It continues to evolve and is not bound to fixed responses.

Where do you study or practice?

I used to study in San Leandro, California, with Erik Medeiros, a student of Marc Tedeschi. Also at the Korean Martial Arts Center in San Francisco, run by Grandmaster Jung. After I moved to Panama I studied with Ramon Navarro, but then I moved to a very remote location with no school nearby, and I made do with training some of the locals. Now I'm back in Central California and again no Hapkido school, so I teach Hapkido informally and I study Jujitsu and Okinawan Kenpo.

I was feeling down as I often do on Saturday evenings, with no classes and Salma away at her mom's house. Finally roused myself to go to the gym, where I lifted weights then hit the heavy bag with a vengeance. A very fit young man approached me and said, "What style is that?" I said, "No style!", gave him my card, and went back to work on the bag. Feeling much better now. It's amazing what a difference exercise can make.

One of the most important things you can do in martial arts class is to finish your sparring session strong. Most sparring sessions are timed. A one or two minute session is common. If you get hit in the face or take a punch to the gut and you're hurt or winded, keep fighting. If you're tired, out of breath, or feeling overwhelmed, keep fighting!

If you are stick sparring and just took a hard hit to the arm and can't feel your…

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Hi there Wael, thanks for the welcome! Ah yes, during my childhood years growing up and well into my early 20's I studied a few different arts, predominantly Karate styles. Last of which, prior to the recent commencement of my Hapkido training, was my father's form/style of Kung Fu about 10 years ago. Unfortunately, I have not trained in any martial art in approx. 10-12 years up until starting with Hapkido here in Canberra, Australia 5 months ago.

But yes, I would have to say Kung Fu is my core art these days - now of which will be combined with Hapkido. I currently train in Hapkido 2-3 days a week and am about to re-commence training with my father 2-3 days a week as well.

Greetings My Hapkido Friend! Thanks for wishing me a happy birthday. It is great that you have a correctional officer in your class. Make sure the CO understands how pure and useful Hapkido is from a reality based concept. Make sure to warn the officer that he might at times become frustrated when he desires to share the beauty of Hapkido with fellow officers. Many will simply neglect taking care of themselves until a 10-10 takes place or even worse an assault on an officer happens.